Research Opportunities for Residents: Internal Medicine

The Department of Medicine has a true commitment to research and scholarly activities. As part of this commitment, it has established a Residency Research Program that is under the direction of the Associate Program Director for Research, Dr. Joseph Timpone. As part of the residency training, all Categorical Medicine and Combined Medicine-Pediatric residents are required to present a research/scholarly project prior to the completion of their training. To this end, residents are permitted to use up to 3 months of elective time to perform research. Residents will have the opportunity to meet with the Program Director and the Associate Program Director to determine and discuss their particular research interests and then be linked with an experienced faculty mentor.

The Department of Medicine continues to issue internal grant funding for resident projects. Residents are eligible through yearly competitive grant funding cycles for awards up to $3,000 to support their projects. The Department of Medicine also provides travel funding for residents who submit abstracts to national conferences and are invited to present their work. Every year, approximately $20,000 is used to support our residents’ research. Residents have been invited to present their scholarly work at multiple national conferences including:

American College of Cardiology

American College of Chest Physicians

American College of Gastroenterology

American College of Physicians

American Medical Association

American Society of Hematology

Digestive Disease Week 2014

Infectious Disease Society of America

Infectious Disease Week 2014

San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium

Society of General Internal Medicine

Society of Hospital Medicine

The Department of Medicine encourages participation in the regional American College of Physicians (ACP) Associates’ Day Research Competition. Every year approximately 15 residents represent the Georgetown program at this exciting venue.

As a result of donations made by patients of Dr. Charles Rackley, former Chair of the Department of Medicine, the Department has been able to fund an annual Research Day which showcases the research work that has been completed by medical students, medical residents, fellows, post-doctoral fellows, and junior faculty members. Research Day includes a keynote speaker, as well as a poster competition that is judged by teams of faculty members from the Department of Medicine. This event takes place every May and $1,000 cash honorarium is awarded to each first place winner in their respective category. The winners from Research Day are also invited to give an oral presentation at a subsequent Department of Medicine Grand Rounds.

Although medical education and patient care are the most important aspects of the residency training program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, our program offers many exciting opportunities for the medical house staff to participate in clinical research. If you have more questions regarding the residency research program, please feel free to contact Dr. Joseph Timpone.